Draft Decision for the C.P.C. onThe Question of the War Ministry[2]

Written:November 19 (December 2), 1917Published:First published in 1965 in the Fifth Russian Edition of theCollected Works, Vol. 54.

      Printed from the manuscript.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      2nd English Edition,

      Progress Publishers,1965,

      Moscow,Volume 42,

      pages38b-39a.Translated:Bernard IsaacsTranscription\Markup:D. WaltersPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive

      (2002).You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.•README

Inview of the fact that General Manikovsky has issued a
counter-revolutionary order to the Moscow Military District not to have
appointed commanders replaced by elected ones, in view of the fact that
General Marushevsky has been conducting negotiations with Dukhonin aimed
against the Council and has made a criminal attempt at sabotage during the
organisation of a delegation for conducting armistice

			    negotiations,[1]

1)Manikovskyand Marushevsky are to be arrested
immediately and not released without the permission of the Council of
People’s

Commissars[3];

2)athorough screening of the War Ministry personnel to be
started immediately and all unreliable elements among the high command to
be discharged;

3)reliableelements from among the commanders of the
Lettish rifle regiments to be ordered out at once to Petrograd;

4)oneLettish rifle regiment to be ordered out to
Petrograd at

once[4];

5)fulfilmentof the above measures to be reported daily to
the C.P.C.

Thisdecision is not, to be published.

[1]Thefirst two paragraphs are in Trotsky’s handwriting.—Ed.

[2]Thisdraft was adopted at a meeting of the C.P.C. on November 19
(December 2), 1917.

[3]Afterthe arrest of General Manikovsky, the general management ’of the
War Department was taken over by N. I. Podvoisky, People’s Commissar for
Military Affairs, and members of the Com-missariat’s Board B; V. Legran,
K. A. Mekhonoshin and E. M. Sklyansky.

OnNovember 30 (December 13) the C.P.C. passed a
decision to release Manikovsky and Marushevsky on parole.

[4]OnNovember 25 (December 8), 1917 the 6th Tukum Regiment of Lettish
riflemen posted in Valka was ordered to Petrograd, and on November 28
(December 11) it was doing garrison duty in the vicinity of the Smolny and
the Taurida Palace.